US7519708B2 - Guest account life cycle - Google Patents
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- US7519708B2 US7519708B2 US10/820,374 US82037404A US7519708B2 US 7519708 B2 US7519708 B2 US 7519708B2 US 82037404 A US82037404 A US 82037404A US 7519708 B2 US7519708 B2 US 7519708B2
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q50/00—Systems or methods specially adapted for specific business sectors, e.g. utilities or tourism
- G06Q50/01—Social networking
Definitions
- the present disclosure is generally related to networking and, more particularly, is related to networking accounts.
- the present disclosure provides systems and methods for managing accounts within a network community. Briefly described in architecture, some embodiments of such a system provide an account server to manage direct accounts for resident users of the network community and guest accounts for guests of the resident users.
- a client of a respective resident user of the network community is configured to send to a non-resident user of the network community an invitation to become a guest of the respective resident user.
- FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of component architecture of a system for facilitating a network community.
- FIG. 2 is a flowchart describing the functionality of a representative embodiment of the system in FIG. 1 .
- FIGS. 5-6 are diagrams showing one embodiment of a user interface for generating and managing a guest invitation request in the system of FIG. 3 .
- FIG. 8 is diagram showing one embodiment of a guest invitation utilized in the system of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 10 is a flowchart describing one embodiment of a method for processing an acceptance of an offer of guest sponsorship in the system of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 11 is a diagram showing one embodiment of the format of member accounts within an account database in FIG. 3 .
- FIG. 14 is a flowchart describing one embodiment of a method for canceling a guest account by a host in the system of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 16 is a flowchart describing one embodiment of a method for canceling a guest account by a guest in the system of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 17 is a flowchart describing one embodiment of a method for modifying settings in a guest account in the system of FIG. 3 .
- FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of component architecture of a system for facilitating a network community (e.g., an association of Internet users).
- the system 100 for facilitating a network community comprises an account server 110 .
- the account server 110 manages tasks and services associated with a network service environment 130 (e.g., a network or system for facilitating an Internet community).
- a network service environment 130 provides a service, product, or application (such as an email messaging service, digital video disc (DVD) rental service, travel reservation service, instant messaging application, virus protection service, etc.) about which a community of registered users is developed.
- a service, product, or application such as an email messaging service, digital video disc (DVD) rental service, travel reservation service, instant messaging application, virus protection service, etc.
- America Online (AOL®) Instant Messenger® is an instant messaging product associated with a community of registered AOL® Instant Messenger® users.
- NetFlix® is the brand name of a DVD rental service that has a community of users who utilize the World Wide Web to rent movies transferred through the United States mail system.
- John has a direct member account to an email service environment (a type of network service environment 130 ) and makes “Beth” his guest (e.g, an indirect member)
- John (“a host of Sue's guest account”) is not directly responsible for Beth's actions in the email service environment (under the rules of the email service environment).
- a guest or indirect member affirmatively verifies to obey the rules of the network service environment 130 (e.g., by “clicking” on an “I Accept” button after reading the rules of the particular network service environment 130 ). Note, this is distinct from being listed as a “child” under a family account where the user of the child mailbox does not have administrative control over the mailbox itself.
- a guest is offered to become a direct member after the host of the guest has chosen to terminate the guest's guest account.
- a user of a child account is not typically afforded such an opportunity when a family account is terminated.
- Another distinctions between a child account and a guest account is that a user of a child account may be able to offer services (e.g., mailbox, access time, etc.) of the parent account to other users while a user of a guest account is not able to offer services of the host account to other users.
- a provider of a service/product By capturing or determining an association of customers or potential customers, a provider of a service/product has gained an important tool to aid the provider in enhancing services and products offered to users of the association. Further, by fostering the establishment of relationships among users in the association, a respective user is less likely to break the ties of these relationships by discontinuing direct membership in the network service environment 130 .
- the cancellation of a direct membership causes the cancellation of the guests accounts associated with the direct member account.
- a guest user may be likely to convert his or her guest account into a direct member account after the user has started and formed relationships with other users of the network service environment 130 .
- a direct member has a registered account for the network service environment 130 in the account database 115 .
- Each indirect member or guest of the network service environment 130 also has an account (or profile) maintained in the account database 115 that is associated or linked to an account of a direct member or resident user that sponsors the guest.
- the forms of the direct member account and the indirect member account are similar so that an indirect member account can be easily converted to a direct member account, if desired.
- Information typically provided by a direct member and included in the direct member account for the network service environment 130 includes a distinct username and password so that the user can verify himself or herself as a direct member.
- a user of a guest account also provides a distinct username and password that is included in the user's guest account to verify the user as a registered guest of the network service environment 130 .
- the account server 110 is capable of verifying that a user is a guest (of a direct member) by requesting information (such as a username and password) from the user that matches information contained within a guest account in the account database 115 . Additional information is also included in the member accounts, such as application settings and user preferences.
- the user may have more than one member account for different network service environments. In some embodiments, however, member accounts for different network service environments 130 may be maintained in a consolidated account database 115 or in separate databases for each network service environment 130 . Also, in some embodiments, a user who is a member of more than one network service environment 130 may have a single member account utilized by more than one network service environment 130 .
- a respective direct member may sponsor a non-resident user (who is not a direct member of the network service environment 130 ) as a guest of the direct member of the network service environment 130 so that the guest can gain access to services and/or products provided by the network service environment 130 .
- a guest of a particular direct member of the network service environment 130 is then able to benefit from some of the services and features that have been granted to the particular direct member or “host” of the guest.
- the services and features available to a guest of a direct member are not available to new direct members of the network service environment. For example, a direct member who has paid for a certain level of service (e.g.
- a premium direct member receives features and services that are not available to a direct member at a lower level (e.g., a “basic direct member”). Therefore, a guest of a premium direct member may also be able to enjoy features and services that are not available to a basic direct member or a guest of a basic direct member.
- both direct members and guests may interactively participate in the network service environment 130 with other guests and direct members of the network service environment 130 (e.g., instant messaging network) or may participate in use of a particular service/product (e.g., a DVD rental service). Accordingly, guests may interact and participate via an application client 135 for the network service environment. As such, an application client 125 of a member of the network service environment 130 enables a user to interface and communicate with the application server 140 .
- the application client 125 , 135 of direct members and guests of the network service environment 130 communicate with an application server 140 (e.g., email server, instant messaging server, web server, file server, etc.) that manages requests for a particular application/product or service from the application clients 125 , 135 .
- an application server 140 e.g., email server, instant messaging server, web server, file server, etc.
- a direct member can facilitate for each of his or her guest users to identify and communicate amongst each other.
- a direct member can enable his or her contact list (that contains contact information for each of his or her guests) to provided to each of the respective guests.
- direct membership to the network service environment 130 is complimentary. In others, direct membership is for a fee or part of a bundle of services provided by an Internet service provider (ISP), for example, that maintains the network service environment 130 . Accordingly, in other embodiments, direct membership to a network service environment 130 may also be contingent upon having a main account for the ISP. For example, in order to register for a particular instant messaging service, a user may also have to first establish another account with the provider of the instant messaging service.
- ISP Internet service provider
- guest slots One feature of direct membership of the network service environment 130 is an allotted number of guest accounts (“guest slots”) that can be created under a direct member account for that network service environment 130 .
- the number of allotted guest slots varies according to the type of direct membership. For example, a premium direct member may be allotted more guest slots than a basic direct member.
- a direct member account for an instant messaging product may have more guest slots that are available than a direct member account for some other type of product (e.g., email messaging product, file-transfer program, etc.). Therefore, the number of guest slots, in some embodiments, vary by product-type as well as by an account type or class.
- a direct member can invite another person to become a guest of that direct member and to have access to services of the network service environment 130 .
- a person that receives an invitation (via an email message, for example) to be a guest of a direct member may accept the invitation by following instructions contained within the invitation.
- the instructions typically explain how the person can initiate the creation of a guest account in the account database 115 (e.g., by instructing the person to click on a hyperlink contained in the email message, among others) (as discussed hereinafter).
- a direct member can also send out more guest invitations than the direct member has allotted guest slots. However, the number of guest accounts that can be granted by the direct member is limited to the number of guest slots allotted to the direct member.
- a direct member account is created ( 210 ) for a user of a product/service provided in a network service environment 130 .
- the user completes a registration procedure to setup the direct member account.
- the user provides pertinent information for enabling the supplying of a service or product to the user.
- the registration procedure may be completed in a variety of manners, including filling out a form on a web page, responding to an interactive voice response system, talking to a live operator, filling out a paper form, etc.
- the number of guest slots that are available by the user to be filled with guest users may be determined ( 220 ) based upon a class of service associated with the direct member account and then, the determined number of guest slots is recorded in the direct member account.
- a user of a premium direct member account may be provided more guest slots than a user of a basic direct member account.
- a class of service marker is denoted in the direct member account to indicate the class of membership (e.g., premium, basic, etc.).
- the number of guest slots in some embodiments, vary by product-type as well as by an account type or class.
- a premium direct member account to a network service environment 130 that provides instant messaging product(s) may have more guest slots than a premium direct member account to a network service environment 130 that provides file transfer product(s).
- a request is received ( 230 ) by the resident user of the direct member account to offer an available guest slot to another person (a non-resident user).
- the resident user launches the application client 140 and utilizes a mechanism within the application client 140 for generating the request such as a web page form.
- the resident user is prompted ( 235 & 240 ) to provide pertinent information identifying the person that is to receive the invitation or offer, the service to be offered, and the terms of the offer.
- the direct member (“host”) creating the offer provides the name of the person (“pending guest”) receiving the “guest invitation” and email address of the pending guest where the guest invitation is to be sent.
- the host selects the type of service that is to be offered to the pending guest. For example, the host may be able to select from various levels of service (e.g., basic service, premium service, various mailbox sizes, maximum number of movies that can be rented at a time, etc.) or product types (e.g., instant messaging product, computer virus protection, email program, etc.).
- the host preferably specifies an expiration date (“end-date”) at which the time the offer or invitation expires. However, the host may choose to not specify an end-date and leave the offer open-ended.
- a guest account is created ( 250 ) for the pending guest (by account server 110 ) and stored in an account database 115 .
- the guest account contains information about the host that is sponsoring the guest account and the service(s)/product(s) that is being offered to the pending guest.
- the guest account contains information concerning when the guest account was created, the duration of the guest invitation or offer, and the current status of the guest invitation (which is “offered” signifying that a guest invitation has been offered to the pending guest).
- the direct member account of the host is also updated ( 260 ) with information concerning the newly created guest account, such as the dates of creation, expected date of expiration (if expressly stated), the current status, the identity of the pending guest, and contact information.
- a request is received ( 230 ) to offer an available guest slot and the guest slot is not, in fact, available, then some embodiments prompt ( 235 & 245 ) the direct member to upgrade his or her account to provide additional guest slots. For example, for a fee, a direct member may be able to purchase ( 247 ) additional guest slots or upgrade his or her level of service to a higher level that has more guest slots available. If additional guest slots are added, then a guest slot is available and the process continues and the pertinent information about the guest, service, and terms of service are requested by the direct member. If, however, a guest slot is not available and the host does not add an extra guest slot, then an attempt is not made ( 248 ) to process the request to offer a guest slot. Additionally, the pending guest is typically notified that the acceptance of the guest invitation can not be confirmed at this time.
- the guest invitation is, typically, sent via an email message to the email address of the pending guest.
- the guest invitation contains instructions for the pending guest to accept or decline the invitation.
- an acceptance is received ( 274 ) to the guest invitation (e.g., in the form of an email reply or the activation of an encoded link in the guest invitation email message)
- the direct member account of the host is checked ( 276 ) to determine if a vacant guest slot is still available for the pending guest who sent the acceptance. If a vacant guest slot is available, the direct member account is updated ( 278 ) to reflect that the current status of the guest account has changed from offered to accepted. Further, the number of available guest slots is updated.
- the guest account for the user who accepted is also updated ( 280 ) and the status of the guest account is updated to accepted (from offered).
- the user who accepted the guest invitation is then instructed ( 282 ) on how to setup the service. Generally, the user is instructed via email or web-based communications.
- the host is also notified ( 284 ) that the user has accepted to become a guest of the host (via an email message, for example).
- the host is notified ( 277 ) that a pending guest has attempted to accept an offer of guest sponsorship and there are insufficient numbers of guest slots.
- the host typically receives notification via an email message directed to an email address listed in the host's direct member account.
- the host may be prompted to add an extra guest slot to accommodate the pending guest, to free up a current guest slot, or to withdraw the current offer to the pending guest.
- encoded web links may be included in the notification email message (to the host) for activating web page(s) that enable the host to implement the aforementioned changes.
- a separate notification message is also sent to the pending guest to inform the pending guest that his or her attempted acceptance of the guest invitation has been received and that processing of the attempted acceptance is being delayed due to the host reaching a maximum number of guests.
- the notification message to the pending guest invites the pending guest to forego the opportunity to be a guest of the host and become a direct member of the network service environment 130 .
- the notification message to the pending guest may contain an encoded web link that launches a web page for signing the pending guest up for direct membership.
- the host If an acceptance is not received from the pending guest and a declination is received ( 292 ) from the pending guest, the host is then notified that the pending guest has declined to accept his or her offer of guest sponsorship.
- the guest account is then removed ( 294 ) (or scheduled for removal/deletion) from the account database 115 , since the guest invitation is no longer pending or active.
- the direct member account is updated ( 296 ) to reflect that the status of the respective guest account has changed from offered to declined. Further, the host is notified (via an email message, for example) that an outstanding offer (of guest sponsorship) has been declined ( 298 ).
- FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing one implementation of the system of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 3 displays one embodiment 300 of component architecture for facilitating a network community for an instant messaging service environment 330 (one type of network service environment 130 , among others).
- a system for facilitating a network community comprises an instant messaging (M) server 310 .
- the IM server 310 manages tasks and services associated with an instant messaging network 330 .
- the IM server 310 manages accounts (or profiles) of users of the instant messaging network 330 .
- the member accounts are maintained in an account database 315 that is in communication with the IM server 310 where the IM server 310 is accessible via a communication network 120 , such as the Internet.
- an instant messaging client 325 of a member of the instant messaging service environment 330 can log on to the instant messaging network 130 by providing proper authorization to the IM server 310 that matches information contained in the member's account at the account database 315 that is used to authenticate the user.
- the IM server 310 then notifies other IM clients 335 that the user has logged onto the IM server 310 of the instant messaging network 330 .
- each IM client 325 , 335 sends the IM server 310 connection information, such as the IP address and the number of the port assigned to the IM client 325 and the name and IP address of everyone in an IM roster (e.g., a buddy list) associated with the user of the IM client 325 .
- the IM server 310 then forwards the roster information to other IM clients 335 so that two IM clients 325 , 335 can communicate directly with each other.
- the instant messaging network 330 is a real-time communications platform based on open protocols and Extensive Markup Language (XML).
- XML Extensive Markup Language
- a presence server 340 monitors presence information of the IM client 325 and notifies the IM client 325 of the presence information of other IM clients 335 and their associated users. Each IM client 325 , 335 communicates with and receives presence information from the IM server 310 that is in communication with the presence server 340 . Accordingly, a user sets roster contact parameters on the type of presence information of other persons or “contacts” that the user wants to receive from the IM server 310 and presence server 340 . Note, in some embodiments, the functionality of the presence server 340 may be performed by the IM server 310 .
- a direct member may designate roster contact parameters in a roster list (or buddy list), for example.
- the direct member identifies other users (or buddies, contacts, etc.) that the direct member wants to monitor.
- guests of the direct member and pending guests are preferably included in the roster list of the direct member.
- the roster contact parameters in the roster list are then stored in a storage medium, such as the account database 315 , for example, that is accessible by the IM client 325 , 335 or the IM server 310 .
- the presence server 340 (via the IM server 310 ) can then retrieve the current status (as represented by the status indicator) of the guest account and associate the current status with a particular presence state for the user. For instance, if the current status of the guest account is “offered,” a presence state of “pending” may be associated with the user of the guest account. Further, if the current status of the guest account is “accepted” or “ready,” a presence state of “active” may be assigned with the user of the guest account.
- the presence server 340 sends a request (via the IM server 310 ) to IM clients 325 with roster lists (that contain the user) to remove the user from their roster list, since the user has declined the offer of guest sponsorship.
- the presence state of the user is represented by an online presence state (online-available, online-away, online-busy) that is determined from the user's IM client. If the user is offline, however, the user's presence state is determined from a different form of presence data provided by the status of the user's guest account.
- FIG. 5 is a diagram showing one embodiment 500 of a user interface for generating and managing a guest invitation request.
- the user interface displays the number 510 of guest slots that a direct member has remaining under his or her direct member account. Also, the number 520 of current guests 525 of the direct member are identified.
- a selection button 530 that may be selected.
- an edit button 540 Upon a selection of the selection button 530 and an edit button 540 , a mechanism for modifying settings associated with a current guest is launched. Settings, such as the end-date that specifies the date for terminating the hosts guest sponsorship of the respective user may then be modified, along with other settings that include cancellation of the offer of guest sponsorship, modifying services or products offered, etc.
- the user interface 500 further identifies person(s) (“pending guests”) 550 who have been sent an offer to become a guest of the respective user and have not accepted or declined the offer at the present date.
- pending guests person(s) (“pending guests”) 550 who have been sent an offer to become a guest of the respective user and have not accepted or declined the offer at the present date.
- a selection button 555 that may be selected.
- settings associated with a pending guest may be modified, such as the end-date that terminates the host's offer of guest sponsorship (“guest invitation”) to the respective user.
- guest invitation the end-date that terminates the host's offer of guest sponsorship
- Other settings include cancellation of the guest invitation, modifying services or products offered, etc.
- a guest invitation or offer is then sent ( 730 ) to the recipient (via an email-formatted message, for example) for a service or product that is to be sponsored by the host.
- the product “Instant Messenger Ver. 3.2” 620 is offered to a pending guest by executing a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) program that sends the email message through an email server 170 to the email address of the recipient.
- SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
- the direct member account of the host is updated ( 740 ) with the information concerning the recipient of the invitation, the date the invitation was sent, the end-date for the offer and/or sponsorship, identification of the services and/or products offered, etc.
- a guest account is created ( 750 ) for the recipient (“pending guest”) that includes information about the pending guest, the host, and the guest invitation (e.g., start date, end-date, services/products offered, etc.).
- a guest invitation is sent in the form of an email message with an embedded encoded web link contained within the email message.
- the encoded web link contains rudimentary information for creating a guest account upon activation of the link. Such information includes an email address of the recipient, host-identifying information, service identification, etc.
- the current specified end-date of the offer of guest sponsorship is also provided to the pending guest via the guest invitation.
- a guest account is created for the intended recipient (pending guest), as is discussed below with regard to FIG. 8 , and the direct member account is updated with information about the guest invitation, as discussed hereinafter.
- the guest account has a similar format to the direct member account so that it each can be easily and efficiently managed. For example, upon creation, the guest account is set up with the same data fields as a direct member account; however, some data fields are only used for a direct member account and not for a guest account and vice versa. In this way, each account shares a similar organizational structure.
- the presence of the pending guest can be monitored by the host while the guest account is pending, as explained previously. After a guest sponsorship is declined by a user and is no longer pending, the respective guest account is subsequently canceled and deleted. Thus, the presence of the pending guest is no longer ascertainable.
- the “guest” can specify a screen-name that replaces the email address in the roster list. Also, at this time, in some embodiments, the “guest” can then choose to import the roster list of the host. Alternatively, if the pending guest declines the offer of guest sponsorship (“guest invitation”), the contact information (e.g., chip@aa.net) for the pending guest (non-resident user) is removed from the roster list.
- guest invitation the contact information for the pending guest (non-resident user) is removed from the roster list.
- FIG. 8 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a guest invitation 800 in the form of an email message.
- the email guest invitation 800 identifies the resident user 810 who has sent the invitation and contains the annotation 568 provided in FIG. 5 . Instructions are also enclosed informing the recipient to activate (e.g., by clicking on the link with a mouse input device) the encoded web link 820 .
- the encoded web link 820 contains information identifying an Internet address of a web server 180 and other information including the originator of the invitation (e.g., host's primary email address), the email address of the recipient (“pending guest”), and a service identification label (service ID) identifying the type of service or product being offered to the recipient.
- service ID service identification label
- the web server 180 Upon activating the encoded web link 820 , the web server 180 receives the information included in the link 820 and transmits a web page for a web browser of the recipient. For example, activation of the web link 810 (via a mouse click, for example) invokes the user's email client to pull the web page from a web server 180 for the user (“pending guest”) to accept or decline the offer of guest sponsorship contained in the email message.
- the guest account (that was created after the transmission of the guest invitation) and the direct member account sponsoring the guest account are updated to indicate that the pending guest has accepted the guest invitation.
- the web server 180 notifies the IM server 310 to update pertinent information in the direct member account and the guest account.
- the web server 180 can send an XML datagram to the IM server 310 (for updating respective member accounts) with guest, host, and service information after activation of the web link and retrieval of a web page from the web server.
- the web server 180 retrieves instructions for the guest to download and set up software for performing applications that are authorized for the guest.
- FIG. 9 describes a representative embodiment of a method 900 for responding to an offer of guest sponsorship.
- a non-resident user receives ( 910 ) an email offer of guest sponsorship (via a guest invitation)
- the non-resident user responds ( 920 ) to the offer by either accepting or declining the offer.
- the user accepts ( 930 ) the offer (by clicking on an encoded hypertext link 820 in the email offer 800 and subsequently agreeing to accept the terms of the offer via a web interface) and the acceptance is confirmed, the guest account is updated with pertinent information about the guest account (such as information about the user, start date of the offer, scheduled end-date of the offer, etc.).
- the non-resident user may then begin the process of activating the guest services being offered by the host.
- the user may start downloading additional software, configuring his or her computer, initiating service by logging into application server, etc.
- the non-resident user accepts the offer of guest sponsorship
- the non-resident user notifies ( 940 ) the host about the acceptance of the offer via an email message.
- the host is notified ( 970 ) (via an email message, for example), and the guest account is removed ( 980 ) or deleted or scheduled for deletion from the account database 115 that stores the guest account.
- FIG. 10 describes a representative embodiment of a method 1000 for processing an acceptance of an offer of guest sponsorship (i.e., a guest invitation).
- an acceptance from an offer (e.g., in the form of an email message) of guest sponsorship is received ( 1010 ) from a non-resident user (pending guest).
- the pending guest clicks on an encoded hypertext link 810 in an email message 800 to retrieve a web page with the option of accepting or declining the offer (via a particular selection button, for example).
- the pending guest chooses to accept the offer by clicking on a web link or button, for example, the clicking of the link/button prompts the web browser 160 of the user to inform a web server 180 that the user has accepted the offer.
- the direct member account of the host is checked ( 1020 ) to determine if a guest slot is currently available for the pending guest who has accepted the offer.
- the web server 180 communicates with the accounts database 115 (or an IM server 310 in an instant messaging model) to determine if the host has an available guest slot. If a guest slot is available ( 1030 ), then the direct member account of the host is updated to indicate that a guest slot has been filled by the pending guest.
- the pending guest receives ( 1040 ) confirmation of the acceptance of the offer.
- the web server 180 sends a web page to the web browser 160 of the pending guest confirming acceptance of the offer.
- the guest account for the new guest is set up with additional information (provided by the user) such as a username for the guest account, password, a screen-name, contract information, etc. that is used for setting up the offered product, application, or service.
- Dale's direct member account 1101 includes a username 1101 a and a password 1101 b .
- Each of the member accounts also contain additional information stored by the user associated with the account. For example, a screen-name 1101 c , a roster list 1101 d , other IM settings 1101 e , and a class of service marker 1101 f .
- the direct member can specify a number of contacts 410 (or buddies) at his or her inclination. Typically, these contacts 410 are those people with whom a user often communicates.
- the contacts 410 listed may be arranged into more than one category.
- the class of service marker 1101 f may be used to indicate a level of membership (e.g., basic-direct, premium-direct, basic-indirect, etc.) to authorize and/or restrict access to various resources. These resources can be other users, applications residing on a server, or even a network connection socket.
- the class of service marker 1101 f would be copied to the client upon a respective user (e.g., Dale) logging in to the IM server 310 (or account server 110 ) and would be included with a service request received from the application client (e.g., instant messaging client 325 ) of the user. It should be recognized that the class of service marker 1101 f can be used to facilitate a variety of different advantageous transactions.
- a declined status indicates that a guest invitation has been offered and declined by the pending guest.
- a canceled status indicates that a guest invitation has been offered and canceled by the originator of the offer (i.e., host).
- a canceled status indicator implies a time to sunset the guest account, after a host or a guest has requested cancellation of a guest account.
- a provider of the network service environment 130 may not want to lose a canceled guest as a member of its network service environment 130 . Therefore, actual cancellation of the guest account (e.g., removal of the guest account from the account database 115 ) may be set to occur a set period of days after the date that the guest or host requested the cancellation. This gives time for the provider to offer a direct membership to the canceled guest.
- FIG. 12 is a diagram showing one embodiment 1200 of a user interface for the IM client 335 of a guest of the host. It shows an example roster list 1210 .
- an indication appears beside the contact's name, which indicates the presence status of the contact.
- These indications in a preferred embodiment are shown in different colors to easily differentiate differences in presence information (e.g., not present, present, available, busy, etc.).
- the indication for available contacts e.g., Larry, Peabo, Daryl, etc.
- the indication for busy contacts e.g., Tiny, Jill, Slim, etc.
- FIG. 13 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a user interface for managing a guest account.
- the user interface 1300 displays the current applications and features 1310 of the guest account.
- the current host 1320 sponsoring the guest account and its relevant features and/or applications are also identified.
- a selection button 1330 that may be selected.
- the settings associated with the applications may be modified. For example, the end-date that terminates the availability of the guest account may be set to an earlier date by the guest or may be set to a date if the end-date had not been previously specified (i.e, an open end-date).
- a convert button 1350 is also provided, in some embodiments, to enable the user of the guest account to convert his or her guest account to a direct member account so that the user can enjoy the benefits of direct membership. In this way, a user can change his or her service settings.
- the user's guest account is converted to a direct member account and the user avoids having to undergo a new registration process.
- the class of service marker 1102 f in the guest account is changed indicate that the guest account has been converted to a direct member account.
- pertinent format changes are implemented to make the organization structure of the guest account correspond to the organizational structure a direct member account.
- the user denies ( 1450 & 1470 ) the opportunity to become a direct member the user's guest account is cancelled at the end-date (or soon after), and the non-resident user is denied access to the application or services that the non-resident user received from the host's sponsorship of the guest.
- the user denies ( 1650 & 1670 ) the opportunity to become a direct member the user's guest account 1102 is cancelled at the end-date (or soon after) by the account server 110 , 310 , and the non-resident user is denied access to the application or services that the user received from the host's sponsorship of the guest account 1102 .
- this type of management structure also has a variety of uses.
- a sales agent having a member account to the network service environment 130 can set up a guest account for a potential customer to try out a product or service during a trial period. Since the guest account includes information about the sales agent, the sales agent is linked to the guest account and assured of receiving credit for a potential sale.
- business agents can set up guest accounts for business partners for particular projects.
- the account server 110 , application server 140 , and application clients 125 , 135 of embodiments can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.
- the account server 110 , application server 140 , and application clients 125 , 135 are implemented in software or firmware that is stored in a memory and that is executed by a suitable instruction execution system.
- account server 110 can be implemented with any or a combination of the following technologies, which are all well known in the art: a discrete logic circuit(s) having logic gates for implementing logic functions upon data signals, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) having appropriate combinational logic gates, a programmable gate array(s) (PGA), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc
- ASIC application specific integrated circuit
- PGA programmable gate array
- FPGA field programmable gate array
- account server 110 , application server 140 , and application clients 125 , 135 can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions.
- a “computer-readable medium” can be any means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.
- the computer readable medium can be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. More specific examples (a nonexhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium would include the following: an electrical connection (electronic) having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette (magnetic), a random access memory (RAM) (electronic), a read-only memory (ROM) (electronic), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) (electronic), an optical fiber (optical), and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM) (optical).
- an electrical connection having one or more wires
- a portable computer diskette magnetic
- RAM random access memory
- ROM read-only memory
- EPROM or Flash memory erasable programmable read-only memory
- CDROM portable compact disc read-only memory
- the computer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via for instance optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitable manner if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory.
- the scope of the present disclosure includes embodying the functionality of the preferred embodiments in logic embodied in hardware or software-configured mediums.
- any process descriptions or blocks in flow charts should be understood as representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process, and alternate implementations are included within the scope of the preferred embodiment in which functions may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understood by those reasonably skilled in the art of the present disclosure.
- the functionality of the account server and application server is consolidated into a single server.
- the host sponsoring the guest account subsidizes most of the cost involved in providing the guest account. However, the guest may also contribute a small portion of the cost via a small fee.
- a host may even be prevented or limited from having guest accounts (or a certain number of guest accounts) if the host has abused rules of a network service environment directed to a policy for granting guest accounts, if the guests of a host has abused an acceptable use policy of the network service environment, etc., for example. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure.
Abstract
Description
Claims (19)
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US7904558B2 (en) | 2011-03-08 |
US20050228876A1 (en) | 2005-10-13 |
US20090164235A1 (en) | 2009-06-25 |
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